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Is Virtus KAR Small Cap Sustain Growth A (PSGAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, a potential starting could be Virtus KAR Small Cap Sustain Growth A (PSGAX - Free Report) . PSGAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Virtus Funds is based in Hartford, CT, and is the manager of PSGAX. Virtus KAR Small Cap Sustain Growth A made its debut in June of 2006, and since then, PSGAX has accumulated about $513.35 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Todd Beiley, has been in charge of the fund since April of 2008.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 15.48%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 7.22%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.
When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. The standard deviation of PSGAX over the past three years is 21.18% compared to the category average of 17.76%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 19.47% compared to the category average of 15.96%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.88, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 4.36, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
The mutual fund currently has 94.46% of its holdings in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $8.24 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
Technology
Finance
Other
This fund's turnover is about 4%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than comparable funds.
Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, PSGAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.33% compared to the category average of 1.20%. From a cost perspective, PSGAX is actually more expensive than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Virtus KAR Small Cap Sustain Growth A ( PSGAX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Virtus KAR Small Cap Sustain Growth A ( PSGAX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on PSGAXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.
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Is Virtus KAR Small Cap Sustain Growth A (PSGAX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report fund category, a potential starting could be Virtus KAR Small Cap Sustain Growth A (PSGAX - Free Report) . PSGAX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
Virtus Funds is based in Hartford, CT, and is the manager of PSGAX. Virtus KAR Small Cap Sustain Growth A made its debut in June of 2006, and since then, PSGAX has accumulated about $513.35 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager, Todd Beiley, has been in charge of the fund since April of 2008.
Performance
Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 15.48%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 7.22%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.
When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. The standard deviation of PSGAX over the past three years is 21.18% compared to the category average of 17.76%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 19.47% compared to the category average of 15.96%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.88, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 4.36, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Holdings
Examining the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is largely on equities that are traded in the United States.
The mutual fund currently has 94.46% of its holdings in stocks, and these companies have an average market capitalization of $8.24 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors:
- Technology
- Finance
- Other
This fund's turnover is about 4%, so the fund managers are making fewer trades than comparable funds.Expenses
Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, PSGAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.33% compared to the category average of 1.20%. From a cost perspective, PSGAX is actually more expensive than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, Virtus KAR Small Cap Sustain Growth A ( PSGAX ) has a neutral Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, Virtus KAR Small Cap Sustain Growth A ( PSGAX ) looks like a somewhat average choice for investors right now.
This could just be the start of your research on PSGAXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.